Crimson and Ivory
by of-Quills-and-Parchment
Summary: FantasyAU.The blood of Prince Crimson was back in the Lands,calling to his lost brother,Prince Ivory.The only problem was that,Crimson's blood was not in just one entity.Chapter 1:Tezuka plays councillor to Echizen who learns that he was a cut above norm.


Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

Title: Crimson and Ivory

Arc: Awakenings (1?)

It was in ages long ago, that Mother Earth descended in the form of a Willow Tree.

In that time, the Lands were One, and the Ocean beat against the soil in futility. The Willow spread her roots throughout the lands, and children were taught to respect and love her.

One day, the King of the Lands of Gaivre, Land of Our Mother, woke from a dream. A beautiful woman was singing in the branches of the great tree. From her raven hair flowed scarlet flowers and rich green leaves, and below her lay two sleeping babies, covered in Sprigs of Golden. The monarch set forth to the sacred tree.

King Melanor stopped his entourage, and the Great King of the United Lands, stooped down in humble gesture, kissed his hands and placed them on the ground in tribute to their Mother. Then he walked, great hands trembling with reverence, to uncover the Golden sprigs.

Two babies, as alike as day and night, lay next to each other. Golden was one, with the radiance of the sun, with lips the shade and colour of ripe peaches. The King laid a hand on his forehead, and eyes fluttered open to reveal blue, like the glorious sky, and the King smiled and said to all, "This is Crimson, for the Blood Red runs in his veins, giving him Life above all individuals and Victory Glorious shines in his eyes! All hail, Crimson! Prince of the Lands of Gaiavre! Lord of the Lands of the Burning Sun!"

Then, as Crimson was passed to nurses in waiting, ready to croon and fawn over his unrivalled glory, the King turned and gazed upon the other child.

Pale, almost luminescent was his skin, a snowy white unrivalled even by the first frost of the year. His hair, so dark, so ebony, yet so burnished, made it appear a tinge of liquid sapphire. His hair cascaded upon fair cheeks, devoid of colour, yet appealingly so, and the King was reminded of the Majesty of the Ocean at midnight, a never-ending blue-black rippling with force ready to rival the Mother. His lips were a scarlet red, the red of roses. The King touched his forehead, and the touch was of marble, like the features chiselled on in exquisite perfection. The eyes opened slowly, and they were blue, not like the sky, but like jewels in dark caverns, speaking of mysterious, unmentioned delights.

The King said in solemn proclamation, "This is Ivory, for none as fair as he can compare to the Moon, none as he can compare to the Night. All Hail Ivory! Prince of the Lands of Gaiavre! Lord of the Lands of the Nine Moons!"

The Princes were brought back to the Kingdom, and exalted above all. The peoples of the United Lands loved Prince Crimson, for he was their Sun, and their Light. Prince Ivory was mysterious and peculiar, not only in looks, but in habits, and it came a time, when rumours of his consumption of human blood arose, and all secretly feared and detested this beautiful monstrous being.

King Melonor knew of the rumours regarding Prince Ivory, and was loathed to keep this strange child in his Palace, but the two children were inseparable at birth. Thus, he decided that on their sixteenth birthday, Princess Mayasa of the Borderlands would be wed to Crimson, whose coronation to the position of Crown Prince would take place on that same day. Yet, on the night before the Wedding, he dreamt of Gaia's warning, for he had incurred her wrath from his scorn of her other Gift.

Ignorant, the King commenced the Wedding, and barely a year had passed when Crimson awoke to the sound of breaking glass, one night. He thought it was the winds, but then the ground groaned and heaved, and moaned its fury and coiled anger, and the Lands of Gaiavre were torn asunder.

The peoples of the Lands escaped to safety, and Mayasa reached out to her husband and tried to save him. But Crimson sat where he was, and heard none of his wife's pleadings or cajolings, and only the sound of Ivory's heart shattering. Then the ground swallowed the Palace, and they were no more.

Ivory, torn from his beloved, had finally enacted his revenge. The Vampyre roamed the ruins of the Land, and without the heart he shared with Crimson, he had to feed on the blood of the living. Finally, filled with self-loathing and anguish, he sank into the Caves of Oblivion, and there he slept for Millennia, awakening only once every turning of age to feed.

He felt the coming and going of other creatures, some of mankind, others ethereal or monstrous, and he also noted the arrival of another of his own kind, another Vampyre, but all this he ignored in favour of dreamless rest.

That is, until the turn of the Fourth Age came, and he once again felt the pull of Crimson in the Lands above.

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Ivory sat in his house, a comfortable modern semi-detached and watched the world go by his window. It had been so long ago, since he had last roamed the Earth, and the ages of Magic had gone, leaving in place the cold, burning taint of technology. Gaiavre was no more, and in its place, were continents and countries. When he had emerged from the Caves of Oblivion, about two years ago, it had been solely because of the call of Crimson in the land.

His Beloved was back, but try as he might, Ivory could not find his brother anywhere. Crimson's Blood had surfaced again, but the Bearers of his Blood had yet to awaken.

The drops of rain splattered onto his window and shook Ivory out of his reverie. He'll find Crimson soon; he'd already bidden his time for Millennia, what were a few more years? Besides, his current life was quite interesting; there were other forms of beings out there that were quite as captivating as his old Beloved.

He smiled as the house phone rang. Long slender fingers picked it up and his soft, sensuous voice rang across the distance and to the caller.

"Hello?"

The caller paused for a long while, before it replied. "Good evening to you too, Your Highness. I rejoice to inform you that the blood debt of the traitor has been paid. Those that carry Crimson's blood in them will awaken soon. This is your second chance, Ivory." The voice was gentle, akin to the soothing sound of wind rushing through the willows.

"It's done then? Melanor's cursed blood no longer taints our world?" The voice on the other line answered with a silent affirmative.

Ivory's smile widened, red lips curving up to form a smirk. He felt happiness then, a feeling that had lately became more familiar than before.

Maybe he wouldn't have to wait for years to meet his Beloved again.

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Tezuka woke with a start. Sweat dripped off his skin, too cold for his liking. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, and stumbled to the bathroom. The nightmare was too vivid. Even now, when awake, he could still feel the tremors in the ground, the heaving of the Earth and the screams of the millions who fell into dark abysses, never to be seen again. He had been there, so many eons ago, along with the other High Elves. After that disaster, only four of them had survived. He needed to see if he could contact the remaining three, as soon as possible.

Tezuka wasn't foolish; he knew what the nightmare meant. The Crimson Blood in the Lands were awakened by the Blood Debt, to be paid by King Melanor, in recompense of his traitorous actions. Tezuka sighed as he remembered searching high and low for King Melanor's reincarnation, to no avail. The high Elves had failed to save that man, and he was caught, no doubt by Ivory's minions.

_Never mind, _he thought to himself, as he pulled his school uniform on, _tennis training first, other things later. _With his priorities fixed, Seigaku's captain left his house and headed for school.

As he came in view of the gates, a smile tugged at his lips as he saw his loyal vice-captain and good friend, Oishi. Scores of years ago, Oishi had been the one to save his life when he had fallen into an abyss during the earthquake. The healer was kind and above all, he was trustworthy. However, _he had interesting choice of company_, Tezuka thought dryly, his eyes slightly narrowed when Kikumaru bounced out into view from behind the gates. It wasn't that Tezuka disliked the elf, it's just that things got noisy and complicated whenever Eiji was around. Tezuka braced himself for the ruckus and walked over slowly, when a hand tugging at his sleeve stopped him in his tracks. He turned around impatiently and came face to face with his newest regular, Echizen Ryoma, who looked…worse for wear.

"Echizen. What's wrong with you."

The boy opened his mouth, as if he wanted to reply, then he caught sight of Eiji and Oishi bouncing over, and shook his head. "Nothing, buchou. Good morning, Kikumaru-sempai, Oishi-sempai."

Echizen had brushed off his question lightly when Kikumaru and Oishi had come over. Tezuka couldn't help but feel worried. Echizen's golden eyes weren't their usual cocky indifference just now, they contained fear, and even slight pleading. This was a side of his junior that he had never seen before, and it made Tezuka apprehensive. He needed to know what was ailing the boy.

Tezuka reached out and grasped Echizen's arm firmly. Echizen turned around and stared at him in mild confusion, but let himself be dragged off by his captain. He had expected his captain to realise that something was really wrong, but he didn't expect Tezuka to act on it like that. The golden pair just stood and gaped at Tezuka's sudden spurt of initiative. Captain and Freshman turned round the gate and headed to a secluded area behind the school compound. Tezuka released Echizen's arm and leaned against the wall.

"Speak. What's wrong with you?"

Echizen rubbed his arm in petulance. The grip had been strong, slightly bruising even. _Buchou didn't have to be so rough, _he sulked inwardly. His outward front kept up a mask of politeness though.

"Buchou, you're a High Elf right?"

Tezuka looked at Echizen with a raised eyebrow. Why was the brat asking about that? He nodded once, and gave his junior a pointed look, clearing asking him to get on with it.

"I thought I was human," Echizen said softly, "then I had a bad dream last night. I dreamt of an earthquake, and millions of people dying, and the sound of glass shattering. I knew my wife was calling me, but I couldn't respond; the glass was too loud. I died." Echizen paused at the end of the longest sentence he had ever said, and looked up at his captain. _Interesting, _he thought to himself, as he took in Tezuka's shocked expression; the captain's eyes were wide open behind his glasses, and his mouth was slightly agape.

"Are you sure you heard glass shattering?" Tezuka's voice sounded strange to himself. His throat had gone dry in his panic. Echizen nodded quite certainly. "The glass was the most outstanding part of the dream. I couldn't remember my wife, even though I sort of knew that the woman in it was my wife, you know? I can't explain why…"

Tezuka nodded back at him. _It would stand out the most, if he is really who he is._ "Echizen, I want you to go and find either Kikumaru or Kaidoh, and tell them that I am invoking the Rights of Protection in passage 205 of the Elven code, and that under no circumstances are they to leave you unprotected. Understand?"

Echizen looked at him dazedly. "The what?"

Tezuka sighed and repeated his words. "It's one of the rules written in Elven Law, stating that all friendly seekers of protection are to be granted it. Now go, and don't leave the school compound without anyone."

Echizen turned to leave, and then spun around once again. "Why."

"Tell me, do you believe in Vampires?"

Echizen frowned in thought. "Well, no, but since Elves exist, no reason why Vampires don't. Are you saying that I'm becoming one?"

Tezuka had to applaud the boy. At least he wasn't going to be stubborn about the whole mess. But the news that he needed to break to the boy was going to be difficult to accept.

"I'll tell you about them later. This place isn't safe from ears."

Echizen went on his way, and Tezuka paused for a fraction of a second to close his eyes and listen. Then, in a calm voice that struggled to suppress his anger, he said quietly, "Fuji, come out."

AN: Hello, new story! Can anyone guess who is who? Haha, the pairings are quite standard this time, so yep!


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